diff --git a/tools/public/assets/cropper/app.js b/tools/public/assets/cropper/app.js
index f33e22d..6f2a415 100644
--- a/tools/public/assets/cropper/app.js
+++ b/tools/public/assets/cropper/app.js
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
    Identity comes from the YOUreka session; the only operator credential is
    the save-time OTP (required by a2loft). Notifications are Carbon toasts. */
 /* global Vue, axios, Croppa, customElements */
+/* window.__SESSION__ is injected server-side by /cropper */
 Vue.config.ignoredElements = [/^cds-/];
 
 (function () {
@@ -69,17 +70,13 @@ Vue.config.ignoredElements = [/^cds-/];
 
     created: function () {
       var self = this;
-      axios.get('/auth/session').then(function (r) {
-        self.session = r.data;
-        self.loading = false;
-      }).catch(function (err) {
-        if (err.response && err.response.status === 401) {
-          window.location.href = '/auth/login';
-          return;
-        }
-        self.loading = false;
-        self.toast('error', 'Session error', 'Could not load your session. Please refresh the page.');
-      });
+      // injected by the server when the page was rendered (no round-trip)
+      this.session = window.__SESSION__ || null;
+      if (!this.session) {
+        window.location.href = '/auth/login';
+        return;
+      }
+      this.loading = false;
       Promise.all(
         ['cds-button', 'cds-toast', 'cds-toast-item', 'cds-tag'].map(function (n) {
           return customElements.whenDefined(n).catch(function () {});
diff --git a/tools/public/assets/fp/app.js b/tools/public/assets/fp/app.js
index 305a662..3e67330 100644
--- a/tools/public/assets/fp/app.js
+++ b/tools/public/assets/fp/app.js
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 /* Fingerprint Agent — enrollment wizard. Captures run through the local
    fpagent binary; artifacts are saved via the app's a2loft proxy. */
 /* global Vue, axios, io, customElements */
+/* window.__SESSION__ is injected server-side by /fingerprint */
 Vue.config.ignoredElements = [/^cds-/];
 
 (function () {
@@ -102,19 +103,17 @@ Vue.config.ignoredElements = [/^cds-/];
       },
 
       loadSession: function () {
-        var self = this;
-        return axios.get('/auth/session').then(function (r) {
-          self.session = r.data;
-          if (self.session.domains.length) self.domain = self.session.domains[0].code;
-          self.loading = false;
-        }).catch(function (err) {
-          if (err.response && err.response.status === 401) {
-            window.location.href = '/auth/login';
-            return;
-          }
-          self.loading = false;
-          self.showNotif('error', 'Session error', 'Could not load your session. Please refresh the page.', true);
-        });
+        // injected by the server when the page was rendered (no round-trip)
+        this.session = window.__SESSION__ || null;
+        if (!this.session) {
+          window.location.href = '/auth/login';
+          return Promise.resolve();
+        }
+        if (this.session.domains && this.session.domains.length) {
+          this.domain = this.session.domains[0].code;
+        }
+        this.loading = false;
+        return Promise.resolve();
       },
 
       refreshDomains: function () {
diff --git a/tools/public/index.html b/tools/public/index.html
index 9a1ac15..cc902e8 100644
--- a/tools/public/index.html
+++ b/tools/public/index.html
@@ -22,9 +22,7 @@
         </span>
         YOUreka <small>Tools</small>
       </a>
-      <div class="nav-right" id="nav-session">
-        <a class="linklike" href="/auth/login">Sign in</a>
-      </div>
+      <div class="nav-right"><!--session-nav--></div>
     </div>
   </nav>
 
@@ -69,30 +67,5 @@
       <span>Scan captures run locally via the fpagent agent &mdash; no scanner data leaves this machine except the enrolled artifacts you save.</span>
     </div>
   </footer>
-  <script>
-    // Reflect the current session in the header: Sign in vs user chip + Sign out.
-    fetch('/auth/session')
-      .then(function (r) { return r.ok ? r.json() : null; })
-      .then(function (session) {
-        var host = document.getElementById('nav-session');
-        if (!session) return; // keep the Sign in link
-        var name = (session.firstName || session.phone || '?').trim();
-        host.textContent = '';
-        var chip = document.createElement('span');
-        chip.className = 'user-chip';
-        var avatar = document.createElement('span');
-        avatar.className = 'avatar';
-        avatar.textContent = name.slice(0, 2).toUpperCase(); // textContent, never innerHTML
-        var label = document.createElement('span');
-        label.textContent = name;
-        chip.append(avatar, label);
-        var signOut = document.createElement('a');
-        signOut.className = 'linklike';
-        signOut.href = '/auth/logout';
-        signOut.textContent = 'Sign out';
-        host.append(chip, signOut);
-      })
-      .catch(function () { /* keep Sign in */ });
-  </script>
 </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/tools/server.js b/tools/server.js
index 57081b2..0e87a4b 100644
--- a/tools/server.js
+++ b/tools/server.js
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 // production always runs on the constants below.
 import express from 'express';
 import path from 'node:path';
+import fs from 'node:fs';
 import { fileURLToPath, pathToFileURL } from 'node:url';
 import { loadYrkaSession, extractPbCookieValue } from './yrka-auth.js';
 import { permittedDomains, stripPhonePrefix, CACHE_FRESH, DOMAIN_TTL_MS, cropPermission } from './permit.js';
@@ -160,7 +161,7 @@ export function createApp(overrides = {}) {
     });
 
   // ── static assets (no session work per asset) ─────────────────────────────
-  app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public')));
+  app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, 'public'), { index: false })); // assets only; '/' is session-aware
 
   // ── session middleware: recover / refresh the YOUreka Auth session ────────
   app.use(async (req, res, next) => {
@@ -277,6 +278,56 @@ export function createApp(overrides = {}) {
     domainsCheckedAt: checkedAt,
   });
 
+  const sessionPayload = async (req, { withDomains = false } = {}) => {
+    const base = {
+      phone: req.session.phone,
+      firstName: req.session.firstName,
+      lastName: req.session.lastName,
+    };
+    if (!withDomains) return base;
+    const { codes, checkedAt } = await domainContext(req);
+    return {
+      ...base,
+      token: req.session.token,
+      agentUrl: cfg.agentUrl,
+      domainCacheTtlMs: cfg.ttlMs,
+      ...domainPayload(codes, checkedAt),
+    };
+  };
+
+  /**
+   * Render a page with the operator's session injected server-side, so the
+   * client never has to fetch it (and never flashes a loading state).
+   * Per-user content — must not be cached.
+   */
+  const renderPage = (res, file, session) => {
+    fs.readFile(path.join(__dirname, 'public', 'assets', file), 'utf8', (error, html) => {
+      if (error) return errorPage(res, 500, 'Something went wrong', 'The page could not be loaded.');
+      const data = session
+        ? JSON.stringify(session).replace(/</g, '\\u003c') // keep markup out of the script tag
+        : 'null';
+      res
+        .set('Cache-Control', 'no-store')
+        .set('Vary', 'Cookie')
+        .type('html')
+        .send(html.replace('</head>', `  <script>window.__SESSION__ = ${data};</script>\n</head>`));
+    });
+  };
+
+  app.get('/', (req, res, next) => {
+    fs.readFile(path.join(__dirname, 'public', 'index.html'), 'utf8', (error, html) => {
+      if (error) return next(error);
+      const nav = req.session
+        ? `<span class="user-chip"><span class="avatar">${esc((req.session.firstName || req.session.phone || '?').trim().slice(0, 2).toUpperCase())}</span>${esc(req.session.firstName || req.session.phone || '')}</span><a class="linklike" href="/auth/logout">Sign out</a>`
+        : '<a class="linklike" href="/auth/login">Sign in</a>';
+      res
+        .set('Cache-Control', 'no-store')
+        .set('Vary', 'Cookie')
+        .type('html')
+        .send(html.replace('<!--session-nav-->', nav));
+    });
+  });
+
   app.get('/auth/session', requireApi, async (req, res, next) => {
     try {
       const { codes, checkedAt } = await domainContext(req);
@@ -310,8 +361,12 @@ export function createApp(overrides = {}) {
   });
 
   // ── wizard page (session required) ────────────────────────────────────────
-  app.get('/fingerprint', requirePage, (req, res) => {
-    res.sendFile(path.join(__dirname, 'public', 'assets', 'fp', 'index.html'));
+  app.get('/fingerprint', requirePage, async (req, res, next) => {
+    try {
+      renderPage(res, 'fp/index.html', await sessionPayload(req, { withDomains: true }));
+    } catch (e) {
+      next(e);
+    }
   });
 
   // ── cropper page + namespaced API (session + crop_image required) ────────
@@ -343,8 +398,12 @@ export function createApp(overrides = {}) {
     }
     next();
   };
-  app.get('/cropper', requirePage, pageCropGate, (req, res) => {
-    res.sendFile(path.join(__dirname, 'public', 'assets', 'cropper', 'index.html'));
+  app.get('/cropper', requirePage, pageCropGate, (req, res, next) => {
+    renderPage(res, 'cropper/index.html', {
+      phone: req.session.phone,
+      firstName: req.session.firstName,
+      lastName: req.session.lastName,
+    });
   });
   const cropperClients = cfg.cropperClients !== undefined ? cfg.cropperClients : buildCropperClients();
   if (cropperClients) {
diff --git a/tools/test/cropper.test.js b/tools/test/cropper.test.js
index 869f781..87f03c7 100644
--- a/tools/test/cropper.test.js
+++ b/tools/test/cropper.test.js
@@ -230,7 +230,9 @@ test('crop gate: permitted operator loads the page; denied operator does not', a
     const cookies = await login(ok.base);
     const page = await fetch(`${ok.base}/cropper`, { headers: { cookie: cookies } });
     assert.equal(page.status, 200);
-    assert.match(await page.text(), /Smart Photo Editor|Image Cropper/);
+    const html = await page.text();
+    assert.match(html, /Smart Photo Editor|Image Cropper/);
+    assert.match(html, /window\.__SESSION__ = \{/, 'session injected server-side');
   } finally {
     await ok.stop();
   }
diff --git a/tools/test/server.test.js b/tools/test/server.test.js
index c082113..55080b0 100644
--- a/tools/test/server.test.js
+++ b/tools/test/server.test.js
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import {
 } from './helpers.js';
 
 // Fake YOUreka portal: web-auth session + openfga verify.
-async function startFakePortal({ cookieStatus = 'Activated', allowed = true, authErrorMessage } = {}) {
+async function startFakePortal({ cookieStatus = 'Activated', allowed = true, authErrorMessage, firstName = 'Ada' } = {}) {
   return startServer((req, res) => {
     let raw = '';
     req.on('data', (c) => (raw += c));
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ async function startFakePortal({ cookieStatus = 'Activated', allowed = true, aut
           status: cookieStatus,
           cookie: makePbCookie(makeJwt({ expiresInSec: 3600 })),
           phone: '+2348068287222',
-          firstName: 'Ada',
+          firstName,
           lastName: 'Obi',
         });
       }
@@ -280,3 +280,50 @@ test('upstream error text is HTML-escaped on the error page', async () => {
     await stop();
   }
 });
+
+
+test('pages receive the session injected server-side (no client fetch, no-store)', async () => {
+  const { base, stop } = await bootApp();
+  try {
+    const cookies = await login(base);
+    const res = await fetch(`${base}/fingerprint`, { headers: { cookie: cookies } });
+    assert.equal(res.status, 200);
+    assert.match(res.headers.get('cache-control') || '', /no-store/);
+    const html = await res.text();
+    assert.match(html, /window\.__SESSION__ = \{/);
+    assert.match(html, /2348068287222/);
+    assert.match(html, /"domains"/, 'permitted domains injected too');
+  } finally {
+    await stop();
+  }
+});
+
+test('injected session values cannot break out of the script tag', async () => {
+  const { base, stop } = await bootApp({}, { firstName: 'Ada</script><script>alert(1)</script>' });
+  try {
+    const cookies = await login(base);
+    const html = await (await fetch(`${base}/fingerprint`, { headers: { cookie: cookies } })).text();
+    const injected = html.slice(html.indexOf('window.__SESSION__'), html.indexOf('</head>'));
+    const payload = injected.slice(injected.indexOf('= ') + 2, injected.indexOf(';</script>'));
+    assert.ok(!payload.includes('</script>'), 'raw </script> must not appear inside the injected JSON');
+    assert.match(payload, /\\u003c/, 'markup is escaped in the payload');
+  } finally {
+    await stop();
+  }
+});
+
+test('landing header is server-rendered for the session', async () => {
+  const { base, stop } = await bootApp();
+  try {
+    const anon = await (await fetch(`${base}/`)).text();
+    assert.match(anon, /href="\/auth\/login">Sign in</);
+    assert.ok(!anon.includes('<!--session-nav-->'), 'marker is replaced');
+
+    const cookies = await login(base);
+    const authed = await (await fetch(`${base}/`, { headers: { cookie: cookies } })).text();
+    assert.match(authed, /Ada/);
+    assert.match(authed, /href="\/auth\/logout">Sign out</);
+  } finally {
+    await stop();
+  }
+});